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14 week old puppy occasionally 'yelps' when being picked up

Hi ,

I have a 14 week old cavalier puppy and what I have noticed that occasionally when I pick him up he seems to let out a 'yelp' around
his neck area. When we first got him he was fine but since we had him microchipped a couple of weeks ago he seems sensitive around the neck.

We took him to the vets today and he manipulated his neck , head and legs and he never flinched , he asked us if was scratching excesively and I said no , he is scatching at his new collar I bought him this week but otherwise nothing.

He is healthy and happy and running around , he shakes his head when playing with toys and never yelps when running or playing just when we pick him up to put him on our knees.......

Probably a silly question for a lot of people, how do you pick up your puppy? If you are
picking it up by putting your hand under the front legs and lifting it like
that you can expect a puppy to yelp.

Yes was going to ask the same thing. A pup (or adult dog) should never be lifted like a baby, from under the armpits. That would be seriously painful for many dogs and forces their entire body weight to dangle from their shoulders . If the puppy is being lifted and fully supported under the chest with hind legs supported in the other hand so nothing dangles -- hard to say what could cause this. If the neck continues to be sensitive with no other explanation then you might want to eventually have a clinical exam from a neurologist -- vets are not really able to adequately assess for something like SM and pain can come and go. But your vet has done a thorough exam and asked relevant questions and at that age I doubt you'd be seeing signs of SM -- it is likely something else. Maybe the way he is being picked up? Maybe the chip (but this usually doesn't last longer than a day or so)?

Iam picking him up by supporting him around the tummy and hind legs , but I have caught my daughter picking him up under his front legs and have shown her the correct way and told her not to pick him up without an adult supervising......

He is playing ok , walking on a lead ok and jumping around ok so hoping its maybe just the position of the chip or he is just sensitive to being picked up a certain way or maybe his collar. I dont want to think it could be SM as there is no history in his blood lines but I suppose that doesnt mean it cant happen???

You guys always offer great advise and support as you did with me and Scooby last year and I know Iam talking to experts too in the signs of SM and anything cavalier so I know Iam in the right place...

Thanks again and anymore advise will be gratefully received..... I have never had a puppy this young before as Scooby was 8 months old when we got him...

I have nothing to add to Sabby and Karlin's response and hope that the cause of his yelping is minor. Just wanted to say congratulations on getting Alvin. Would love to see pictures of your little boy and hear more about him.

It''s most likely nothing to worry about. Enjoy your puppy! If this persists for several more weeks then I'd talk to your vet about it again.

I don't think there's a breeder on the planet who can say SM isn't in their bloodlines however. It crosses all pedigrees of the breed -- there was a large study of pedigrees and affected dogs are connected into pretty much all now -- researchers have not found a single line free of SM/CM when dogs are MRId. Breeders produce hundreds of puppies whose owners will never get back to them about individual health issues so a breeder saying they 'have never had it in their lines' cannot say this with any confidence at all.

As the new UFAW website notes -- the only way breeders can know if they have affected dogs and are at a higher risk of producing affected puppies is of they MRI. If they don't, most likely they are breeding affected dogs as most breeders have found at least about half of their dogs MRI with syrinxes at younger ages -- and research indicates about 70% of primarily show breeder dogs had syrinxes by the time they reached over 6 in a sample of 555 cavaliers. And UFAW notes that 75% of puppies are likely to inherit the chance of developing SM if parents are not both clear on MRI.

I feel it is very important for people to understand the reality of this condition and be aware that breeder comments that they have no SM in their lines/have never produced an SM dog is just outright false -- unless they have MRId all their dogs and all the offspring and remain in touch with every puppy buyer. Breeders should know more than to be saying this at this point.